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Senate GOP mulls 2012 strategy

With a prolonged presidential contest, Senate Republicans have been debating internally whether to present a more aggressive platform before they have a presumptive nominee. The concern, expressed privately by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and others, is that a detailed agenda could be stepped on by a presidential nominee — and that the focus should remain squarely on Obama’s record.

But others want to a detailed agenda of specific bills that the party will push — so that when they go back home, they can point to specifics of what would be enacted if Republicans win back power.

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“Obviously, we have many challenges for the country, and I think the American people want to know what our positive agenda is to solve those problems,” said Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire.

Added Arizona Sen. John McCain: “The candidate will have an agenda, but there will be certain things, like sequestration, like the payroll tax, there’s a list of about seven or eight different issues that we face – that Republicans in the Senate face.”

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the conference chairman who organized Wednesday’s meeting, said Republicans put out an economic plan last year but there “are always attempts to refine it.”

“The other aspect … is how do we communicate that gets across to the American people what we’re for,” Thune added.

During the meeting, freshman Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin distributed a handout titled “2012 Strategy” and discussed for 20 minutes his proposal for the party’s tactics, according to a document obtained by POLITICO. He called for the GOP to frame the debates as a choice between economic problems under Obama and a “path to prosperity” aimed at building the private sector.

And he called for the GOP to have a “strategic reaction” to events, such as the release of the new budget next week and the anniversary of the health care law.

“This is a political process, if you’re going to pass things, you need to persuade, educate, inform and win the argument,” Johnson said in an interview.

Readers' Comments (14)

Added Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas): “I think what you’re going to see hopefully is better coordination and more effective communication in talking about how the president was dealt a tough hand, but rather than making things better, his policies and his people who supported him are actually making things worse.”

Except that the opposite of that statement is the truth. No matter, never stopped them before.

Among the suggestions were to attack Obama’s economic record and contrast it with a set of GOP proposals aimed at scrapping regulations, drilling for more oil on public land, overhauling entitlements, eliminating defense spending cuts and overhauling the Tax Code.

Is this an action plan to help the economy or to get a Republican elected? Either way, it looks like a loser for the GOP as well as America.

What is new about this proposed agenda, they simply haven't learned from their mistakes and are deluding themselves if they think it will work in an election year. The 10% favorable rating isn't going away with another year of unnecessary legislative battles driven by the house republicans.

I am confused should I vote for an unemployed man making $52,000 an hour or vote for the man who is going to raise taxes on men who are making more than $52,000 per hour?

That should be the question to ask before you vote.

The GOP agenda:

Abolish the EPA, can't wait to see rivers catch fire pre EPA days

Cut taxes to 0% on the rich, but raise taxes on people who pay "no taxes"

Eliminate birth control, nothing like having more children like good old days of 8 or more

Start an another unnecessary and unfunded war with Iran, send middle class kids, but Romney's kids are doing their war effort to get Romney elected. Or may Ted Nugent can shove peanuts up his anal again for good of his country,

Cut public education, nothing like having the dark ages

Abolish FEMA, next time you are hit with a natural disaster you will get a tax cut and a bible

The contrasts are unlimited anything to help the 1% but nothing to help the 99%

So enlighten me, GOPers. What did Obama do to make things worse? Stimulus spending is well proven as correcting a recession, both Reagan and Bush did it.

Obama kept the rich tax cuts, which clearly aren't working.

Our federal gov't is still at a record low after the Bush years.

Our federal taxes is still at a record low due to the Bush tax cuts.

So, are you attempting to say that we'd be better off because a Republican president would have taxed people to balance the budget? Or we'd be better off because they'd eliminate social spending? Keep in mind Bush increased social spending by creating Med Part D. Didn't you guys plan that out?

What in the Republican belief system about gov't and taxes could you propose? Helping the oil companies with pipelines isn't going to move the economy. Ending the defense cuts will make the deficit worse. Cutting social programs will hurt people during a recession. When we've been working on pro-rich policies for a decade, why on Earth would you want to change that? That's the GOP's problem. They got what they want and it didn't work and instead of changing your mind, you want to double-down? You can't sell that to voters. I think if you had any ideas, you would have had them by now. And you wouldn't have spent time affirming 'In God We Trust', ok?

If the GOP doesn't change radically, it has nowhere to go. That's why I left.

The hardest thing to do is come up with a good scam. The repubs are trying hard and know there s a good 35% ofthe country that s easy to scam. Getting that last 16% to capture a win is the hard part. It will be interesting what disengenuous fables they hide behind.

My plan is to wake as many people up as i can and warn them about the christian WHITE and their plan to force their Sharia law on us , They may not call themselves the TAliban, but that is what they are .They chose to bow to the LoWest denominator in their party ( Beck, limbaugh, hanity) Wake up American they do not love America .They love their gods They have done Everything in their power to keep America down over the last 3 years , and in an effort to destroy Obama, they have tried to destroy America . They are filled with Hate ,thaqt is all they have